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Just drew on a dog...

DreQo

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So I had a case of water in the trunk of my car that I had to go down to get since we ran out. Out of habit I strapped my gun belt on and attached my holster and sidearm. My g/f laughed at me for taking my gun down to the car just to get some water, and I stuck my tongue out at her as I walked out the door. :D

When I got to the sidewalk, I heard rustling noises in the backyard by the garbage cans. Stupid neighbors have been putting their trash in my can, so I figured I'd wander around back to take a look. I heard something rustling in the trees going off the other direction, and I figured it was a cat. We hear them fighting outside once in a while.

I came back around the corner into the light of the parking lot street light, and I found myself about 10 feet in front of a very angry dog. It was a black dog, probably a lab, and his hair was all tuffed and messy. He was down low, growling and bearing his teeth, then he started to bark and lunged forward. I took a few steps back, drew, and yelled "back off!". I'm not sure why I yelled back off....but I did. The dog flinched for a second when I yelled and dropped back down and started growling again. Next thing I knew, I heard a little girl yell "buddy! buddy!!" and the dog barked at me once more before running back to the adjacent building.

I walked up to the front of the buildings and holstered my weapon. A little girl and a little boy were standing there as the dog ran around them playfully. The girl said "I'm sorry!!!" then gasped when she saw my gun. I smiled and told the girl it's all right, but she should bring the dog inside. The dog ended up wandering closer again with his tail wagging as I got the water out of the car. I said "hey boy" and he sniffed around before heading inside with the kids.

I think the dog freaked out on me because I was a dark figure coming out from around the corner, and I accidentally snuck up on him. The dog was under the street light, so he probably couldn't see me very well at all.

Now I feel kinda stupid for drawing, but when the dog jumped forward I was sure it wasn't going to end well. A billion things ran through my head, including "oh man, if I have to shoot my ears are going to be ringing for the next 3 days" lol. I didn't realize these situations could be so damn nerve racking...and this was just a dog!!

Blah, ok, thanks for letting me vent, guys :?.
 

HardChrome

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Newport News, VA, ,
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A very similar thing happened to me a few years ago. It was a good test of my control. I drew but quickly realized the dog was behind a fence and never got the muzzle totally out of the holster. Glad you maintained your cool too.
 

XD-GEM

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New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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Most dogs that are pets will back down if you give almost any loud, firm command to them. Don't try it with a trained K9, though. They will only respond to specific commands - and not all of the commands are in English.

In your incident, the dog was also protecting the kids. When they talked to you in a friendly manner, the dog no longer viewed you as a threat to his people. Glad you didn't have to shoot him.
 

david.ross

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Don't feel bad because you drew your gun on a dog. Dogs out of the yard need to be leashed. Let me tell you, I was walking on the beach here in Homer, and three dogs came at me and my girl(my malamute). They surrounded us, two goldies and one small kickme pincher, and barked. Two of them actually nipped at me, I wish I had my gun then, I would've shot them both, and kicked the kick me straight in to the ocean. The owners you ask, 300ft away acting like the dogs barking and nipping at me is F@#King alright.

We have leash laws here for a reason, stupid owners like said owner of trio above is a good example. I will not hestitate to relieve a dog from a stupid owner in the future. I let the officers and the shelter knew what happened. The officers know I will not tolerate such behavior because stupid dog owners don't leash or train their dogs. The next dog to take a nip at me, is a dead dog. What I find funny is since I started open carrying to the beach, the owners who KNOW their dog will nip at me, run to their dog like crazy to leash their F@#King dog.
 

compmanio365

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Pierce County, Washington, USA
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XD-GEM wrote:
Most dogs that are pets will back down if you give almost any loud, firm command to them. Don't try it with a trained K9, though. They will only respond to specific commands - and not all of the commands are in English.

In your incident, the dog was also protecting the kids. When they talked to you in a friendly manner, the dog no longer viewed you as a threat to his people. Glad you didn't have to shoot him.
+1......dogs are pack animals......it was protecting the pack from what it perceived as a threat, namely you......once the children were talking to you, it was clear to the dog you were not a threat, or at least not one it wanted to tangle with.
 

jchantelau

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I always carry some pepper spray with me which works great on the pups that get out of hand without having to pull my firearm.
 

XD-GEM

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jchantelau wrote:
I always carry some pepper spray with me which works great on the pups that get out of hand without having to pull my firearm.
A friend of mine who is a postal carrier says he has found pepper spray to be useless against dogs. He uses an air horn and says that usually does the trick.
 

jchantelau

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XD-GEM wrote:
jchantelau wrote:
I always carry some pepper spray with me which works great on the pups that get out of hand without having to pull my firearm.
A friend of mine who is a postal carrier says he has found pepper spray to be useless against dogs. He uses an air horn and says that usually does the trick.

Horns or whistles can work well but so far in my experience the pepper spray has done the trick. Being that I run in the evenings I'm sure I will encounter more dogs.
 

david.ross

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I prefer a cattle prod, like other responsible dog trainers use when walking in areas where dogs may be running freely when not supposed to be.
 

jchantelau

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insane.kangaroo wrote:
I prefer a cattle prod, like other responsible dog trainers use when walking in areas where dogs may be running freely when not supposed to be.
Cattle prod is not very fun to carry when doing a 7 mile run.
 

Theseus

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I think that in your situation your reaction was understandable and you should not regret.

You stayed cool...tried to find a reasonable alternative...and didn't panic pull the trigger.

Slow and cool. It doesn't matter how fast you pull the trigger if you don't have a target.
 

DavidTexasNRA

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I discussed this exact situation in an NRA Pistol Instructors course. I was walking my dogs and two (name your violent breed) came out and started to attack my dog (not me). I drew and shot the dogs. Your answer to LEO is "I was in fear for my life as those dogs were going to attack me at any minute after attacking my dogs"...not something you could prove, but "In fear for my life" is as good a defensive answer as there is.
 

AbNo

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Well, if they are likely to kill your DOGS, aren't they likely to be in a frenzy-like state after that, and want another target/victim?

I'd also be worried they were diseased or rabid, if they are approaching and attacking other animals and people like that.

Just remember, you have to cover all your bases.
 

MetalChris

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DavidTexasNRA wrote:
I discussed this exact situation in an NRA Pistol Instructors course. I was walking my dogs and two (name your violent breed) came out and started to attack my dog (not me). I drew and shot the dogs. Your answer to LEO is "I was in fear for my life as those dogs were going to attack me at any minute after attacking my dogs"...not something you could prove, but "In fear for my life" is as good a defensive answer as there is.
In TX wouldn't you be allowed to defend your dogs anyway?
 

david.ross

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In most states there are laws regarding the use of force or deadly force against dogs which are bothering wildlife, other domestic animals, or humans.

There was a time I was bothered here, and I didn't have a weapon on me. If I did, I'd have been in my right to take out my firearm and shoot the 3 dogs bothering Faith(my malamute) and me.
 
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